The Lone Blade
by BlackDeath99912
Summary: Death is but another way of life. It's there but people won't just accept it willingly. The question is, are you willing to die to save those close to you? This is the story of a man who changed everything by just joining the game of death. This is the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, known to many as Zangetsu. Formerly known as The Lone Mask.
1. Zangetsu

**I do not own either Sword Art Online or Bleach. If I did, why would I write this?**

_**Chapter 1: «Zangetsu»**_

Ichigo Kurosaki was mad. No scratch that. He was _pissed. _His day had started just like any other day. Wake up, get attacked by his dad, go to school, kill some hollows then go back home. Sure, he had to make an excuse as to why his hair was now black. It had happened a lot during the week after Aizen's defeat, but he finally learned to tolerate it with help from his much calmer demeanor.

**Flashback : 1 week ago**

"It's over, Aizen" muttered Ichigo as his blade fell down, killing the traitor instantly.

"Ichigo"

Said shinigami turned around and calmly stared at his zanpakuto, "Tensa. I never realized that you could materialize yourself without the use of Kisuke's training dolls.", Zangetsu did not bother to hide his smile, "It's rather easy once you learn how." His smile quickly disappeared, "But that is not why I am here. The reason for this is that I have found a way for you to keep your powers as a shinigami.", Ichigo's eyes widened at that, "How?", he almost shouted but visibly calmed down when Tensa stared at him, amusement dancing in his eyes, which, of course disappeared as quickly as it came.

"The only way is for you to merge your soul with mine. If you do that, however, me and your hollow will cease to exist. If you don't, you shall live on as a normal human until the day you die. Whichever one you choose there is a grave consequence but whatever your choice may be, me and the hollow will follow."

Ichigo stared. On one hand, he could continue to fight alongside his friends with the power to protect. On the other hand he could finally have the normal life he had always wanted. Finally he spoke, "What do you want, Tensa?"

"You already know the answer to that."

Ichigo took a deep breath, then finally, he nodded. After that, darkness consumed his vision.

The next day, he found himself at his home, with black hair, an even more colourful mouth courtesy of his hollow merging with him, and a bipolar personality, with him changing from impossibly calm to completely batshit insane which he thankfully got under control. Still, these were small changes compared to him losing his two partners while still keeping his powers.

**End of flashback**

* * *

As Ichigo was thinking, he absently walked through the front door, dodged an attack by his father, and locked the door behind him. The reason why he was so pissed was because, as Keigo had so bluntly said, with tears, he might add, he had fan girls._ Fan girls. _Literal _fan girls. _The cause for this was apparently his change from scary orange-haired delinquent that kicked people's asses for no reason, to a calm handsome badass that helped keep the bullies in line. In short, Ichigo was the most popular male in the entire school.

Like he cared.

But still, it was quite irritating. Only Ichigo would think like that.

"Onii-chan, can you open the door for Dad? His dinner is getting cold." Yuzu, one of his sisters, asked from the dining table. Blinking, Ichigo snapped out of his thoughts. Standing, he slowly made his way to the door. He just knew that once he opened that goddamn door, something will happen, whether it be good or bad.

"ICHIGO! WHY WOULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO HORRIBLE TO YOUR OWN FATHER SUCH AS LEAVING HIM ON THE COLD, COLD STREET AT A NIGHT LIKE THIS? NEVER MIND THAT! BEING YOUR MOST AWSOME FATHER THAT I AM, I HAVE FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING TO OCCUPY YOUR SPARE TIME! A NE-" Isshin was not able to finish as the sound of a door slamming echoed through the house.

_'What the fuck is this piece of crap?' _Were the thoughts of the teen as he stared at a weird piece of equipment that seemed to be a helmet of sorts. Luckily, it came with a manual. _'A NerveGear? Probably what Oyaji was screaming about.'_ In a few hours, Ichigo was able to finish the entire manual. While skimming through it, he noticed that it could only be activated when the clock hit 1:00 in the afternoon tomorrow. Well tomorrow was the weekend, and he had nothing better to do than kill some Hollows, so he could, maybe, try it for a few hours.

* * *

**The Next Day**

Ichigo, well rested and ready to do shit, checked if everything was secured. He was after all technically going to a new world, so he better make the best of it. Lying on his bed, he put on the NerveGear. The clock on the visor showed it was almost time. Finally, it ticked to 1:00 pm.

"Link, Start!"

* * *

Multiple screens covered his vision, most too fast for him to even see. It was getting all nauseous until he came to a screen. Different character customizations ranging from his in-game name to what gender he was to even his body measurements. Entering his gender as male, he then proceeded to model his character to as close as he could to Zangetsu. Finally, he came to the name. Seeing as it would compliment his character, he decided on his in-game name.

Zangetsu.

_«Confirm?»_

Clicking the ok button, Ichigo was thrust into the world of Sword Art Online.

_'This is amazing'_, were the teen's thoughts as he marveled at the quality of this world. He felt as if he was in the real world, the only difference was the small rendering of an area once you look in that direction, but other than that, it really was a world within a world.

Walking to test if he wasn't going to die after a few steps, he broke into a run. He didn't know where he was going, but it'd be better if he got a head start from everyone. If he was going to play this game, he was damn well sure that he'd play it like a boss.

For what seemed like an eternity trying to get through the crowd, «Zangetsu» made it to the fields where already several people were killing some low level boars. Killing any boars that were near him, Zangetsu traversed through the field, and eventually, he found himself in a forest facing an NPC that seemed to have a quest for him, as indicated by the floating marker above its head.

"Please, you must help me. My family has been killed by a terrible monster, and the only thing I have to remember them by has been stolen by the beast. I would go myself, but I am not as fit as I used to be. The creature is crafty and intelligent. You must not face it for too long else it will kill you. If you succeed, I will reward you. "

And so, Ichigo went on to look for this 'creature'. After a few minutes of searching, he found it inside a cave. Ironically, it looked like a Hollow, just without a hole. It had massive arms, with an equally massive body, easily towering over Zangetsu. Its skin looked like gray fur covering its entire body. The most distinctive feature was the bone white mask on it's face, "I'm gonna enjoy this" muttered Zangetsu, a smirk slowly creeping onto his face.

The Hollow-like creature suddenly charged, startling Ichigo who was looking at its health bar. His eyes widened slightly as he saw that the «Demonic Summons» had two health bars that were both twice the length of his own. It didn't take him long before he realized this was a mini-boss

Jumping back, he activated a sword skill and immediately jumped back into action. He was lucky he had turned off the auto assist of the system else he would be on cooldown right now. Slashing vertically, a red flash could be seen slicing off the arm of the mini-boss, which took a large portion of its health. Roaring in pain, the beast charged Zangetsu, who got hit squarely on the chest. Looking at his health bar, he took notice that he was already in the yellow zone. He muttered a curse as he charged back in, throwing sword skill after sword skill, not giving it a chance to fight back. If it couldn't attack, it wouldn't have a chance at killing him. At last, the «Demonic Summons» burst into countless hexagons that symbolized it death. A screen popped up in front of him.

_**Congratulations!**_

_**Rewards: **_

_**Exp: 50000**_

_**Items: «Demonic Ingot» x 1**_

_**«Demonic Mask» x 1**_

_**«Picture Frame» x 1**_

Another screen popped up.

_**Congratulations!**_

_**You have leveled up to level 7!**_

Staring at the screen like it was lying, Zangetsu breathed. That one battle made him level up to 7? But he was just level 1 a moment ago! Well, mini-bosses and bosses were made for parties, so the exp must have been for at least a 6-man party and not a single player.

Swiping his hand, he opened his inventory, and materialized the «Demonic Mask». Again, another ironic thing. It looked almost exactly like his Hollow mask with a few key differences. Putting it back in his inventory, Zangetsu made his way back to the NPC.

"I did not expect you to come back alive. Never the less, you did get my «Picture Frame» back, so as I promised, I will reward you by creating you a weapon of your design with any material." A piece of parchment and a pencil appeared in his hands and the man gave them to Zangetsu, who in turn drew a close replica of Tensa Zangetsu. Opening his inventory, he found the «Demonic Ingot» and handed it to the man, "If you can, please use this as the material."

The NPC nodded, "This will only take a moment." True to his word, the sword was finished within a few minutes. When he examined it, it was almost exactly as Tensa Zangetsu, the only difference being the dark red hilt,

"Thank you."

Just as he said that, Zangetsu was engulfed in blue light.

* * *

He was teleported. He didn't even know that was possible, yet now, along with the other ten thousand were back here, the Town Of Beginnings.

"Look!"

This prompted everyone, including himself, to look where the other player was pointing.

There, red «Warning» and «System Announcement» hexagons began to form. Eventually, when the hexagons covered the entire sky, blood seemed to pour down, forming what seemed to be a cloaked man, but without arms nor a face.

_**"Greetings. I am Akihiko Kayaba, and I am the sole man able to control this world."**_

Whispers broke out amongst the players, ranging from, "Is that really him?", to, "What's with the logout glitch?" What really irked Zangetsu was what Kayaba said about only him being in control.

_**"As some of you may have noticed, the logout button is inaccessible. This is not a bug. I repeat this is not a bug. Rather it is a feature of «Sword Art Online». To escape, you must clear all 100 floors of «Aincrad». Removal of the NerveGear through outside interference is not possible, as doing so will cause the NerveGear to send an electromagnetic signal through your brain, effectively killing you. Unfortunately, several families have disregarded this warning and have tried to remove the NerveGear, causing 213 players to leave this world as well as the other."**_

There were gasps because of that. Zangetsu's eyes hardened. How could already 213 be dead so early in the game? He looked at his hp bar. It was in the red zone.

_**"Additionally, if your hp hits zero, the NerveGear will again, kill you. Finally, I have added a gift for all of you in your inventories. Please confirm this."**_

Opening his inventory, Zangetsu searched for the 'gift'. Finally, he found it. It was a «Mirror». He took it out of his inventory and unsurprisingly, he saw the face of his avatar. Suddenly, everybody around him was once again engulfed in blue light. This time though, they weren't teleported, rather they looked different as the light subsided. He looked at his mirror once more as he too was covered by the light. After it dimmed, he saw his face. It wasn't his avatar's face. It was Tensa Zangetsu's face, _'Impossible. The only explanation for the others is because of the calibration for the system. If that was the reason, why the fuck did I become Tensa?'_

_**"You are all probably thinking ,'Why? Why would the creator of this game do this?' It is simple. I created this world for one reason and one reason only; to interfere with it, and now, it is done. This concludes the official tutorial of «Sword Art Online». Good luck, players." **_Just like that, the sky turned to normal and the cloak vanished. Zangetsu equipped his mask. He was going to need it to calm down the crowd when they snapped.

"No!"

And there it was. That seemed to break the shocked silence of the players. Making his way through the crowd, which was difficult considering all the chaos, he finally made it to the center. Climbing up the bell tower, he prepared to hit the bell. Hitting it as hard as he could, the sound resonated throughout the Town of Beginnings, "Now that I've got your attention, let me tell you one thing," his words were closely listened to as the once panicking crowd started to calm down, "You're letting Kayaba win. He wants us to panic, to create chaos. And what does chaos mostly lead to? Death. If we give in to what he says, then were good as dead." This seemed to give them heart as the fear and panic slowly turned into anger and resolve, "Now I understand that there were beta testers here, am I right?" This was accepted badly as shouts of anger erupted from the crowd.

"Yeah, where are the beta testers?!", "What are you? Cowards?", "Show your damn faces!"

**"URUSAI!"**

That seemed to garner their attention as the shouts immediately ceased, "Them being beta testers or not, it doesn't matter. They're still trapped here like us. Now, I'll ask again; Who was a beta tester?" There was a moment of silence before a single voice cut through, "I am!" The boy who had shouted looked very feminine, but Zangetsu thought that he had a lot of potential.

Soon enough, more shouts had erupted claiming they were beta testers. He had them gather at the center of the square, "Now, I know this is a lot to take on, but if you can, maybe you can train the others? If you don't want to, I'll understand, but think about this; how many lives would you be able to save by just training them?" Determination dawned on their faces. Still, others were skeptical. He sighed, "If you're gonna train them, do at least 30 at a time. That way we'll be able to save more lives than just helping them one at a time." He started to walk off, "If you need me, I'll be in the dungeon trying to find the Boss room. And for the record," he was already pretty far when he looked back at them, "I wasn't a beta tester" he turned back to continue on his path when a voice called out to him.

"Hey, what's your name?"

It was the same effeminate boy from before. He smiled behind his mask despite everything.

"Zangetsu"

**A/N: well, that's chapter 1. This is my first story here so don't be too hard on me if my writing sucks dick. Anyway, please leave a review or pm me if you have any questions. I will try to answer them as best as I could. Also criticism is very much appreciated. One last thing; if anyone wants to suggest a cover for this fic, I'll be happy to check it out.**

**Date finished: February 16 2014**


	2. Zangetsu 2

**For disclaimer, refer to chapter 1**

**Chapter 2: Zangetsu 2**

A screen popped out from where he killed the boar. It didn't even matter anymore as he quickly dismissed it. The fight had barely lasted a minute for him to get any items of importance.

It had been two months since they started this Death Game, and so far, only a handful had died, most because of cockiness, stupidity, and on one occasion, both. It was all thanks to that Zangetsu guy that they had managed to get this far. Still, no one had heard from him since his first appearance at the «Town of Beginnings». They were sure though that he was still alive, seeing as though he himself had added him as a friend and that Zangetsu's name had yet to disappear from his friend's list.

"Ki-bou!"

Kirito sighed, "Argo. What is it this time. Can't you see I'm grinding here?" That was a lie. He knew that the only way to level up at this point was to go up to the second floor. The exp needed to level up vastly differed from the beta test. Now, every time you leveled up, the required exp would multiply the required exp from your previous level by 2. Not much, if you look into it early in the game, but now, with him at level 15, leveling was almost impossible. Argo pouted, "Mou... I guess you don't want to know about the Pre-Boss Raid Meeting then..." His eyes widened at that, "What? They finally found it?" Argo rolled her eyes, "Obviously"

"Well, what the hell are we waiting for?" With that, rushed back to the town.

"You don't even know where its gonna go on! And by the way, it's tomorrow!"

* * *

**The Next Day, Boss Raid Meeting**

Kirito watched as players began to pile in, and damn, there was a _lot_. Spotting Argo, he waved over to her. She quickly sat beside him, "Did Zangetsu show up yet?" he immediately asked, only to be disappointed by Argo's negative. If they were going to take down the Boss, they were going to need his help, especially if the highest leveled players were just 13 to 15. A blue haired man stood up and motioned for everyone to keep quiet.

"Hello and thank you for coming. My name is Diabel and as you may already know, me and my party found the Boss room just yesterday." The atmosphere was tense as he said this, "According to our information from the beta, we know that the Floor Boss' name is «Illfang the Kobold Lord». We can't be sure of its attack pattern as it may have changed since the beta, but we can confirm that it still uses a battle axe during its first phase, which it switches for another weapon when its fourth health bar depletes to red. «Illfang» is guarded by its three «Kobold Sentinels», each using different styles of attack. After every hp bar is emptied, «Illfang» will summon three more of his sentinels. Now, will everyone form parties of at least three. Each party will be assigned to either defense, offense, or healing." With that, he sat down, queuing everyone to start forming parties. Breathing, Kirito threw a pointed glance at his friend. Argo sighed as she opened her menu and sent him a party invite, "We still need one more person." She reminded him, searching for anybody without a party. Spotting someone, she elbowed Kirito and motioned to an auburn-haired girl. Lost in her thoughts, Argo felt that something, or rather, someone, was missing, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Brushing it off as nothing, she continued watching Kirito. It seemed that the girl had accepted, were her thoughts just as another hp bar appeared beneath Kirito's.

_'Asuna, huh?'_

Diabel stood up once more, "Does anyone have any questions?"

A single hand rose up, albeit slowly. To her mild shock, it was actually Kirito. Rising, he asked the question going on through everyone's minds.

"Where is Zangetsu?"

Diabel sighed, "That's just it. We actually ran into him when we were heading back. We told him that the Boss Room was up ahead, and _he_ told _us_ that he was going to scout it. One thing's for sure though; he's still alive." Accepting the explanation, Kirito sat back down, although Argo saw a hint of disappointment flash across his normally stoic face.

"We meet back here tomorrow morning at 10 sharp! Anyone who doesn't make it will be left behind!"

* * *

**The Next Day, Path to «Illfang the Kobold Lord»'s Boss Room**

"So... What weapon do you use?"

Kirito's eye twitched as Argo asked 'Asuna' for what seemed like the 20th time, "Give it a rest, Argo. She'll tell us if she wants to." Asuna softly smiled at him. She was getting annoyed as well, but couldn't find the heart to try to stop the cheerful girl.

"We're here."

Diabel's voice broke the once eased atmosphere, replacing it with a determined yet frightful one. They were going to prove that this game was beatable.

"Charge!"

Everyone rushed in the Boss Room, ready to put their hard work to the test. To their shock, there was no Boss, only an open staircase leading possibly to the next floor.

"Was the Floor Boss... defeated?!" Whispers broke out among the players, some relieved while others were still cautious. All of them, however revolved on one thing, or rather, one person; Zangetsu.

**Two Hours Earlier, Floor Boss Room**

* * *

Zangetsu was winning. He was actually fucking winning. When he first scouted the Boss, it looked as though it was going to be one hell of a fight, and it was. He had just returned to fight «Illfang» once again, and at first, it seemed impossible to do damage to it, much less kill it. As the battle progressed, he managed to figure out the Boss' attack patterns. After that, although the fight was far from easy, he had been able to empty three of its hp bars, and now, the fourth one was in the red.

Suddenly, «Illfang» roared and threw its weapon back, replacing it with something akin to a nodachi. Charging at him at blinding speeds, Zangetsu was caught off guard as the Boss jumped from pillar to pillar. Jumping back, he slashed at «Illfang» as it came down to strike. He didn't come out unscathed, though. Noting that his health bar went from green to red in one shot, Zangetsu decided to end it. Activating a sword skill, he charged once more. The satisfying sound of infinite polygons dispersing filled his ears.

_**[ Congratulations!**_

_**Exp: 400000**_

_**Col: 80000 ]**_

_**[ Congratulations!**_

_**You got the Last Attack Bonus!**_

_**Reward: «Coat of the Shinigami» ]**_

Noting with slightly weary eyes that the exp he had gained didn't even fill 10% of his exp bar, he dismissed the first screen. The second one however, got his attention. The manual never said anything about the [Last Attack Bonus]. Equipping the «Coat of the Shinigami», he was again surprised at how similar it was to his Bankai outfit. The mask could just be a coincidence, but now this? Something was going on here, and he didn't like it.

Gripping his «Dark Retribution» tightly, he opened the doors to the second floor.

* * *

**Time skip: 2 years later**

He barely blinked as he killed the human-lizard. It felt so long ago that they have been trapped here, yet at the same time, it felt like it was only yesterday.

He quickly dispersed the screen that appeared after killing the mob. The exp he gained from that fight didn't even fill a tenth of the exp needed for him to level up.

Opening his inventory, Zangetsu removed his mask, just as he would always do to prevent anyone from recognizing him. It wasn't that he was scared of attention. Far from it, really. It was just that he didn't want anyone prying into his business. He lived a dangerous life after all, going solo on every dungeon.

Something caught his eye as he motioned to close his inventory. It was his «Dark Retribution». Its durability was low, almost to the point of shattering with a single twitch of his hand. He sighed. It was about time he got a new weapon. The sword he had gotten on the First Floor was good up until the 25th Floor, where it had barely did any damage by itself, the only thing giving it any power was his own STR stat.

Even if he wasn't going to get a new sword, he would still probably head back to civilization soon. The last time he had been to any town was two months ago, when he had restocked on food, health potions and other necessities.

Gathering his bearings, he proceeded to head out the dungeon. His thoughts wandered to what had been happening recently. Apparently, players found something akin to an Adjuchas, complete with mask and hole. Players who tried to kill it were quickly killed themselves. Until, that is, a player nicknamed 'The Black Swordsman' came. He was able to solo the Adjuchas, almost dying in the process. A thought came to his mind, a thought that proved logical after everything that's happened,

_'This is no fucking coincidence'_

Sighing as he made it to the teleport gate on the 74th Floor, he teleported to the 48th Floor.

* * *

**48th Floor, Lisbeth's Smith Shop**

"Hello! How can I help you?"

These were Liz's words as she hurried to the front desk. She had a strained smile as she was rudely awoken by someone coming into her shop.

"Is that any way to greet me?"

Her eyes widened, "Kuro-kun!" Of course, that wasn't his name. Not even his avatar's name. When she asked for his name the first time around, all she got was a blank stare. This resulted in her calling him 'Kuro' because of his 'strange fascination for black'. 'Kuro' nodded, "Haven't seen you for a while, Liz"

A vein throbbed on Liz's head as her eye twitched, "You're the one who didn't come back here for two damn months! How the hell was I supposed to know you weren't somewhere in a ditch, wasting all of my hard work, and for what? For you to just d-"

"You know I won't die unless this game is finished."

She went quiet after that. Even though she may not know his name, he knew him. He wasn't the type to just wait around. If it were him, he would've charged in, a battle plan ready in his head.

"I need a new sword"

Her thoughts stopped to a halt. A new sword. No, she must have heard wrong. In all her time here, all he asked of her was to repair his sword, not forge a new one, "Sorry, but can you repeat that?"

He rolled his eyes, "You heard me. I. Need. A. New. Sword."

Her jaw almost hit the ground, "What!? But you haven't gotten a new sword since your current one ! «Dark Retribution» was all you needed, you even told me yourself!" She flailed her hands about. It wasn't that she couldn't match the stats on «Dark Retribution» that made her nervous, rather it was the thought of trying to impress him. Over time, she had somehow developed a small crush on the black-haired man even though this was just a game. Said man sighed as she tried to dissuade him, "I know you can do it", those words were enough to make her heart flutter.

"F-Fine. I'll need some materials though!"

Eyes lighting up slightly, he asked, "What do you need?" She quickly explained to him, "There's a mob in the dungeon under «The Town Of Beginnings». Rumor has it that when killed, it will drop a smithing item that will give a blacksmith the ability to craft a weapon on par with weapons on the 80th Floor. If you're gonna try to kill it, I'd suggest a large party."

Before she even finished, Kuro was already out the door, "Good luck, and don't die!" She called out to him as he disappeared into the crowd.

With Kuro gone, Liz's eyes sparked with determination. If she was going to make him a sword, she was going to make him a damn good one.

* * *

_**A/N : nothing much to say about this chapter. Still, we're gonna see more of Zangetsu aka Ichigo next chapter, and maybe more of Kirito's perspective. Oh and if you haven't guessed who the fuck Kuro is, its Zangetsu**_

_**Reviews:**_

_**Kyuubi no Youko27: Here it is!**_

_**WBE: Thanks!**_

_**Black Bankai: Well, here it is.**_

_**Friaku: You're partially correct. I won't reveal to much of the plot by saying more. **_

_**gliderc2: Thanks and I don't think Ichigo will be shipped with anyone, at least not yet. Might do that in the future if my writing improves. **_

_**Hurader: Yeah, I agree that the first chapter was rushed. I just felt that I needed to get it out there. **_

_**bleachnumber1protector: Oh, I'm already planning to. **_

_**XMugen-GetsugaX: As you can see, 50000 exp isn't actually much in the long run. **_

_**HollowPheonix: About my update schedule. : expect me to write a chapter in 3-5 days and spend about 2 more days proof reading it.**_

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorite-d this fic. Still quite shocked at the amount of attention this fic brought in one day though. **_

_**Date finished: February 21**_


	3. The Blade

**For disclaimer, refer to chapter 1. Seriously, don't you people know why this is called FANfiction?**

**Chapter 2: The Blade**

* * *

**1st Floor, [Black Iron Prison]**

He frowned as he looked at the names of the players. Over 300 had died so far, which was a feat considering how long ago the start was. His frown deepened as he saw over half of them stated 'killed by «-»', the player names purposely censored in order to hide the PKers. The PKers themselves were the ones who refused to believe that dieing here would result in death IRL.

Making his way underground, he thought about their progress so far. They'd been stuck on the 74th Floor for 5 months now, longer than any of the other floors. It was tense between the front liners. Any floor taking more than a week to find was incredibly hard. They learned that the hard way as the 25th floor took around a month to find. Some players that were cocky tried to beat the Boss with 5 parties. The end result was half of them dieing in one hit, while the others barely made it out alive.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

He looked up. It was an Army member. The Army was a guild dedicated to the protection of those whose levels were lower than average players. He could respect that, "I'm just here to grind." He stated simply. The guard nodded, "Your level?"

"59." He lied. Truth is, his level was 86. Took him a crap load of time to get to that point. The guard nodded again and stepped aside, "Good luck"

Zangetsu slowly walked inside. When he was sure the guard couldn't see him, he opened his menu and equipped his mask. He was gonna need it. The mobs in the underground were at least 60th Floor type mobs. The worse part was that the deeper you went in, the stronger they would get.

_'Wait a minute. Fuck! Why the fuck didn't I ask what the mob looked like!? I'm fucking retarded' _

He nearly bashed his head against a wall for his own stupidity. Seriously, what was he thinking? That the mob would magically appear in front of him?

_'Well, no use trying to fix something that's already happened. Better start killing mobs.'_

* * *

**2 hours later**

As Zangetsu walked around aimlessly, killing mobs in random, he noticed something odd about the corridor he was in. Looking around, he felt as though something was watching him. Turning around, he saw nothing. He narrowed his eyes, _'What the fuck? Am I going insane?' _Shaking his head in an attempt to collect his thoughts, he continued on.

* * *

**30 minutes later**

Zangetsu stopped. Looking around, he found something disturbing; this corridor looked familiar. What's more, he had yet to encounter another mob. Something was gonna happen. And that something won't be good. Frowning, he came to a decision; he'd move coward. And if this _is _a trap... well traps didn't go very well when you've got him in it.

* * *

**5 minutes later**

_'What the fuck is that thing?' _He thought to himself. Standing in front of him was a hooded figure. Its skeletal hands grasping a gigantic scythe. He couldn't see its head, but if he would base it upon the rest of its body, it would probably be a skull.

It swung its scythe. At first it was slow, but as it drew nearer, it became faster and faster, almost to the point where he couldn't see it. Dodging it, Zangetsu grimaced. He would tire out before coming close to killing this thing. Activating a Sword Skill, he charged. His sword glowed red, "«Cero»!"

Good thing he had gotten a «Special Skill» that allowed him to customize skills he already had. He was confused at first, but he immediately recreated his signature move; «Getsuga Tenshou». «Cero» was just a recreation of «Horizontal», just more power and less accuracy. He slashed at the «Reaper». He was surprised when its health went down by 5%. He had expected to at least deal 50% on its first hp bar, _'Damn. This is gonna be a tough one'_

"«Getsuga Tenshou»!"

This time, black light erupted from the sword. Slashing downwards, a black arc formed, making its way to its target. He kept using «Getsuga Tenshou» as he saw that he had dealt a decent amount of damage. Suddenly, the «Reaper»'s scythe shot out of the dust cloud, _'Shit. This thing really is no joke. Its probably something equal to the 85th Floor.'_

He looked up to its hp bar, _'Just one more to go' _he thought to himself. Indeed, he was able to reduce its hp down to one bar. He looked at his own hp. He was in the yellow zone, _'It did that much damage in one hit? Crap. Its already hard enough to try to kill it, but trying to kill it without dying in the process?_'

He charged another «Getsuga Tenshou» and rushed in. He was shocked as the «Reaper» threw its scythe at him. He quickly shifted to the side. He didn't come out of that unscathed, though, as he was grazed by its tip. His eyes widened as his previously yellow hp bar fell into the red zone, blinking, _'A graze did that much damage. Had I been hit, I'd be dead.'_

He looked up to the «Reaper»'s figure. It was still. Something clicked in his mind, _'It's stunned. That move it used seems to take a long-ass time to cooldown.'_

Standing up with new resolve, he charged once more. Using a berserker style, he slashed wildly. Inch by inch, its hp bar lowered, until finally, the sound of shattering glass filled his ears.

_**[ Congratulations!**_

_**Exp: 5000000**_

_**Col : 7000000**_

_**Items: «Soul Fragment» x 1**_

_**«Soul Gem» x 1**_

_**«Reaper's Scythe» ]**_

A sudden realization came to him as he downed a health potion; there was no [Last Attack Bonus], which means that that thing he fought wasn't even a Boss. His eyes hardened. If that indeed wasn't a Boss, then the next floors are gonna be hell to deal with. He glanced at the other items he got. He'd probably find a use for them, just not right now.

* * *

**48th Floor, Lisbeth's Smith Shop**

A bell ringed throughout the shop. Shuffling feet could be heard as a pink haired girl came out the back door.

"Hello and we-"

She stopped her greeting as she saw the black haired man. Said man raised his hand, "Liz" he said simply. Liz nodded, "Do you have it?" He silently opened his inventory and handed her the «Soul Gem», "This it?" He asked as she looked at the screen, "Yep. Just give me a minute and I'll be done here."

Just like when he got his «Dark Retribution», it took a little over 2 minutes to finish his new sword. «Midnight Blade» it was called. It looked somewhat like his «Dark Retribution» but had three prongs extending from its tip. He liked it.

"Can you upgrade it?" He asked the blacksmith, who was still proud of her achievement, "Yep, but when I looked it over, you seem to need something called a «Soul Fragment». And I'm guessing you have that as well" she said with a raised eyebrow. Opening his inventory once more, he gave the «Soul Fragment» to Liz.

After a few more minutes, the sword was done. Now, it was a «Midnight Blade +20». Apparently, the «Soul Fragment» had 25 uses on it, but she only suceeded in getting it up to 20, "Now," she clasped her hands, "about the payment...

"5000000 Col!"

Eyes twitching, he once more opened his inventory, this time getting the «Reaper's Sycthe» and handing it to Liz, "Will this suffice?"

Liz, who was staring in awe, could only nod in response. Kuro nodded, "Make someone proud with that thing. I surely won't need it." With that he was gone. By the time Liz snapped out of her trance, he was nowhere to be found, "Damn" she muttered, but quickly turned her face towards the door as the bell chimed. This time it was someone wearing nothing but black and a sword seathed behind him, though she couldn't exactly tell whether or not 'he' was actually a boy or a girl, due to 'his' effeminate face. Inwardly, she sighed. It probably one of _those_ type of customers.

"Hello and welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop"

* * *

**35th Floor, 2 weeks later**

Why did he have to owe Argo? Why did he even accept her request? And why is he in the middle of a goddamn forest? He sighed. It was going to be a long day.

When he first met Argo the Rat, he thought nothing of her. Turns out, she found out his identity. And boy, was he pissed. In the end, Argo got over 10 million Col, a new pair of rare claws he had gotten from a Boss and finally, a favor. Her task for him now was to find someone whom the mid-tier players called the 'Beast Tamer'. One of these days, he was going to regret doing this.

"Help!"

His head snapped up. It was a girl's voice, no older than 12. Breaking into a run, he hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

**A/N: that's a wrap. Shorter chapter, I know. Deal with it. Now, the «Reaper» wasn't the one from the light novel/anime. It was just, well, a really powerful mob. Also, Zangetsu should have died when he was hit by its scythe. In all honesty, he had some help, though I won't elaborate any further than that.**

**Reviews: **

**coronadomontes: Thanks! (Gracias!)**

**skepsis66: I hope you do!**

**Kyuubi no Youko27: Thanks!**

**KO (Guest): Getsuga Tenshou is not his Special Skill, but rather an extension of that Skill. **

**9tail-Naruto: There's gonna be few reasons when I don't update on time; 1. Internet down/blackout 2. Laziness 3. Am somewhere where there is no internet 4. Lost inspiration and 5. Dead. So...Yeah. **

**red888: I'll try to update as often as possible. **

**XMugen-GetsugaX: the 2 year timeskip was canon in SAO. **

**dalulzing: I might take it into consideration. **

**friaku: well, I can't say that the spiritual world is interacting with him directly. Damn, you're smart.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, faved, and followed this story. The response I got from just the first two chapters was just overwhelming. **

**Date finished: March 1 **


	4. The Dragon Tamer

**Disclaimer is in Chapter 1. Why do I even bother with this?**

**Chapter 3: The Dragon Tamer**

* * *

Silicia held Pina close. She was going to die here, and nobody would be able to help her. Why she went into the forest all by herself, even she didn't know. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the ape killing her, "I'm sorry, Pina." She whispered to the dragon. Pina purred and snuggled closer to Silicia, apparently oblivious to the danger.

Suddenly, she heard the familiar glass-like shattering that signified the death of a player or mob. Slowly opening her eyes, what she saw was something short of a miracle. Somebody had saved her. Somebody actually saved her!

"Are you all right?" The man's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Now that the apes were killed, she could see her savior. He was a tall, black haired man, easily 6'3. He wore a black coat with several 'X' like patterns on his chest and forearms. Held in his right hand was a pure black sword with three protrusions coming out from its tip. His eyes though was what caught her attention. They seemed to shift from a warm amber to a calm blue to a demonic gold, like they couldn't decide what it should be. Finally, after a moment, she replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saving me."

He nodded, "Good. You should head back to town to rest." With that, he started to walk away. Blinking, Silicia called out, "Wait!" The man turned around, eyebrow raised, "What's your name?" She asked her savior. She wasn't going to just let him go without her even knowing his name. The man seemed to pause, as if he was having an inner debate with himself. Staring back at her with an impassive face, he replied, "Call me Kuro for now." With that, he turned around once again, ignoring her shouts of 'Stop!' And 'Wait up!'.

* * *

**60th Floor, 30 minutes later**

'Kuro' sighed. The girl, Silicia he found out, was actually the person Argo wanted him to find. Why this girl was called 'Beast Tamer' was still a mystery to him. Overcome with his own boredom of waiting for Argo to show up, he said, "So, Beast Tamer, why would Argo ask for you?" He could see that the girl's face reddened, from embarrassment or irritation, he did not know.

"W-Well I met Argo-san once when we partied together for a mini-boss. I guess that she wants something from me. Oh and people actually call me 'Dragon Tamer' rather than 'Beast Tamer'..." She said, her voice getting quieter after each word. A question popped in her head, "Why were you looking for me anyways? Why you instead of Argo-san?" Feeling slightly insulted, though unknown to the girl, he said, "I owed her a favor"

"That's it?"

"Yep"

"Really?"

"Yes. Now stop your yapping."

Silicia pouted, "But there has to be something else" she almost shouted before catching herself and reverting back to her nervous, stuttering mess she had been before. Kuro's eye twitched, "Okay, there may be another reason" Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, "What is it?" She half demanded, half asked. He sighed, "You remind me of one of my sisters. Not how you look, mind you." He said with finality, his eyes scouring the field. Where was Argo? They'd been waiting here for almost half an hour!

Silicia looked down. It was an unspoken rule amongst the players to not talk about the outside world. Kuro, though, seemed to not care about that. Rather, his words were laced with concern, for his sister, no doubt. She smiled to herself. He must be a one hell of a brother to worry about his family's lives rather than his own right now.

* * *

**20 minutes later**

Kuro scowled at the approaching figure, "You're late" he said, irritation clear in his voice.

"No you're early." Said Argo in a voice that just furthered his irritation, "Whatever. I brought the Beast Tamer," he gestured to Silicia, "so I owe you absolutely nothing." He turned around to walk away when the broker grabbed his shoulder, "No. You're still gonna have to accompany us to the Hill of Memories." She told him as if he were a child. She leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Or do you want your secret to somehow leak all around Aincrad? A lot of people would pay handsomely for that kind of information." He could practically feel the grin in her voice.

"Fine, fine." He said while sighing in exasperation. Argo cheered while Silicia wondered what the broker had said for him to accept, though in the back of her mind, she had several ideas.

* * *

**Path to the Hill of Memories, 30 minutes later**

"Why are we here again?"

They had been walking for the past 20 minutes or so and Argo seemed determined to not tell them of what they were doing. Unless, she said, they asked nicely and/or paid a price.

"That would be 50 col, please." Grumbling, Kuro opened his inventory and paid the broker, "Now, why the fuck are we going to the Hill of Memories? And why are _we _here?"

"A client's request" she answered shortly, "Care to be more specific?" He said while his eye twitched, "A client wanted me to provide them with a rare item that can only be found at the Hill of Memories. You're here for all the muscle work. Silicia-chan is here because only a Beast Tamer can take the item."

"You're fucking lazy, you know that right?"

"Yep"

* * *

**Hill of Memories, 5 minutes later**

"That it?" They were staring at a flower. A goddamn flower, "You fucking _blackmail _just to get a fucking _flower _of all things"

"Ah, that's not why I brought you here"

But the man seemed to not notice, "I can understand the Beast Tamer, but me? Why bring me here as added security, when there is no fucking danger?"

"Kuro-san"

"Oh, I know! You just blackmailed me just for the hell of it! That's it isn't it? The 'you-know-what-fuck-it' style. Well, that's the last straw!"

"Kuro!"

"If you know what's good for you, you won't bother me again with shit that's equal to a fucking peanut. And if I hear so much of a whisper of my fucking life out of anybody's mouth but mine, I'm gonna hunt you down like a fucking dog"

"KURO!"

"WHAT?!"

"If you would just listen, I will tell you why you're really here." Said Argo, an amused expression adorning her face, "You're here," she pointed up at the sky, "to kill that"

Looking up, Kuro saw a giant bird. It was probably 20 meters, if not more. It's feathers were black with a few red areas here and there. What caught his attention was the multitude of bone-like protrusions extending from its back, right where its spine should be.

"The fuck is that thing?" Right on cue, an hp bar appeared beside it. «Nevermore» it read.

"It's a Mini Boss, so good luck!" When he looked back, he saw that the broker was dashing away, a protesting Silicia being dragged beside her.

"Damn it, Argo!" He shouted as he dodged an attack from the «Nevermore». He had no time to block as the Mob quickly followed up with a strike using its claws, cutting his health down by 5% before it quickly refilled, _'Good thing I had that «Battle Healing» skill.' _He thought to himself. He had gotten it from a quest in the 74th Floor a few days after getting his «Midnight Blade».

The «Nevermore» attacked once more, but this time he was ready as he blocked and quickly retaliated with a Sword Skill.

His sword glowed red as he used «Vertical». If he was gonna use Sword Skills, he was damn well sure he wasn't going to use «Getsuga Tenshou» or «Cero», else he might get recognized by the girl. Without pausing in his step, he charged once more.

* * *

**With Argo and Silicia**

"We gotta go help him!"

Argo turned to look at the younger girl. She had a worried look on her face, one that could be compared to that of a younger sister worried for her brother, "He'll be fine" she assured the girl, "I've seen him take down stronger." That was a lie as she never saw him fight, but still, the guy had supposedly soloed Floor Bosses, so this would be easy for him.

Silicia, however frowned, "Still, it's a Mini Boss!"

"And I said, let him take care of it" Argo countered, "He'll win. I'm sure of it." Silicia relaxed slightly. If Argo the Rat was sure of something, its probably true.

* * *

**With Kuro a.k.a. Zangetsu**

"Shit!" He cursed as the «Nevermore» hit his arm, his health dropping down to the yellow zone. His «Battle Healing» was almost entirely useless as the Mob hit him with a debuff that prevented any and all healing, through Sword Skills or potions.

He had to end this. He had to end this fast or all three of them will die, no questions asked.

"«Horizontal»" he shouted as his blade pierced the side of the Mini Boss, taking a good bit of health, but still not enough. He looked up to its hp bar. It had 2 hp bars, both twice his own. That, however, was not the problem with the «Nevermore». The reason why it was taking so long was because he could barely hit it and when he did, it was mostly just scratches or grazes.

Spotting a large stone, he had an idea. Normally, the system wouldn't allow him to use the environment, but due to him turning off the system assist, he was able to bend a few rules. Not that he knew anyway.

Climbing the rock, he prepared himself. Just as the «Nevermore» came swooping down, he jumped on its back. After a moment of adjusting his position, he stabbed his sword in its skull. The beast screeched in pain and crashed to the ground. Kuro closed his eyes and prepared for impact. One downfall of him turning the system assist off was that he felt pain. Though nothing like the ones from his battles, the wounds he received still hurt like hell. He felt his body hit the ground. The sound of shattering glass filled his ears. He opened his eyes. He won.

_[Congratulations!_

_Reward:_

_Exp: 1500000_

_Col: 2000000_

_Items: «Claws of Suffering» x 1]_

"You did it!"

He turned around to find that Argo and Silicia were making their way towards him, "You got it?"

"Yep" said Argo as Silicia held out the flower, "Good. Can I leave now?"

"Nope. We still gotta deliver it."

"Fuck"

* * *

**55th Floor, 30 minutes later**

"What's happening?" Came the voice of Silicia as players were rushing in the coliseum. They had just finished delivering the item to Argo's client when Kuro noticed players entering the coliseum. Argo opened her menu and tapped some buttons. Her eyes widened in surprise as she read the message.

"It seems as though that Ki-bou was able to solo the 74th Floor Boss. Now, he and Heathcliff are having a duel. If Ki-bou wins, Asuna-chan can leave the KoB, but if Heathcliff wins, Ki-bou has to _join_ the Kob!"

"Ki-bou?" Was his only response, "Ah, right. His real name, well real here, is Kirito." She turned to the coliseum, "Well what are we doing standing around here? Let's go!"

* * *

**5 minutes later**

"Look, they're starting!" Shouted Argo over the crowd. True to her word, both combatants took a stance as a timer appeared over them. What surprised Kuro was that Kirito had two swords equipped,_ 'A Special Skill...So that's how he was able to solo a Boss.' _Were his thoughts as the timer hit zero. Immediately, Kirito charged at Heathcliff, delivering blow after blow. The guild leader however matched him with his shield. The 'Black Swordsman' was not phased as he continued his assault, right up until he had made the mistake of overextending his arms, to which Heathcliff took the chance to bash his shield against his opponent. Kuro narrowed his eyes.

_'There's no shield skills in this game'_

Kirito stumbled but regained his composure as he once again slashed at him, this time succeeding in damaging him. A determined look crossed Kirito's face as he resumed his assault, this time faster. Just as he was going to deliver the final blow, Heathcliff blocked and finished the duel, him winning. Kuro, however, noticed something, _'He moved way too fast for him to block that last move'_ With that, he walked away, leaving the two girls alone.

* * *

**A/N: yeah. If you think that Kuro is acting OOC, then worry not cause he isn't. Remember that his hollow merged with him as well, so, yeah. Virtual cookie goes to whoever figures out where the mini boss came from. **

**Reviews:**

**Kyassaru: I'm listening **

**antonoir: Here you go!**

**Jetsmillion: Well care to tell me which one?**

**coronadomontes: There you go, more of Kirito and Zangetsu's new sword in one chapter!**

**Chaos-Guard: Nope, it ain't just you. **

**KO: Let me just say that it won't be Kayaba that's going to get screwed. **

**ultima-owner, Kazaru13, XMugen-GetsugaX, friaku, only a fan: Thanks!**

**As always, thanks to everyone that- well you know the drill**

**Date finished: March 7**


	5. Hiatus

**Sorry, this ain't an update. This is a notice that this story is on hiatus, if you couldn't already tell from the chapter title ironically enough. Lately I've been affected by what people call writer's block. Yes you heard me, writer's block. Not cock block. I just can't think of a good continuation of the story. Maybe because I'm still waiting GGO to come out. Either that or I've been watching to much of Kill la Kill. Meh. The next time you see this update is when I'll post three, yes three, chapters all at once. **

**Also, remember that update schedule? Fuck that. **

**One other thing I've failed to mention in the first chapter; chapter one was inspired by Kain Everguard's 'The One Who Protects' first chapter, though with some differences here and there. Sorry for any confusion. **

**Almost forgot. The title change. I thought that 'The Lone Mask' did not fit this story anymore. Plus, 'The Lone Blade' does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it? **

**Sorry again for putting this story on hiatus. One last thing though, a virtual cookie to everyone who answered 'The Crow' by Edgar Allan Poe, while a cake to those who answered RWBY, but as we all know, the cake is a lie. Just kidding. You can still have half of a cookie. **

**This is goodbye until the next chapter. Or until my next story. Goodbye! (For real now)**


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